The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-07-02
SUFFERING PIONEERS.

Some OF the Btrdshlps Enour0o ny w
First Settlers in the Western Reserve
The Western Reserve of Ohio received
in its settlers the best blood of New
England. Those men journeyed thithe1
in springless wagons, or in sleds, fol
lowing through thu woods, trails which
were so narrow THAI a passage for thei,
teams had to be cut. Months were oc'
cupied in the fatiguing. uncomfortable
journey, during which the emigrants
encountered sickness, hunger. wild
beasts and wilder Indians. When
"the land of promise was reached, q
log-hut, with creased paper for win
dows, a door of split boards, and q
rude floor, was run up. The inmate!
of one log-cabin chung up a quilt. and
that, with a big bull dog, constituted
the door," Wooden dishes and bowl.
were used for years after the arrival Of
the settlers. When yellow clay dishes
and bowls were made, the hardy house
wives looked upon them as luxuries.
The pioneer mothers were gifted
with a faculty They made mince.
pies Of pumpkins instead Of apple, and
with vinegar in place Of wine and
cider, and they used bears meat in.
stead Of beef. These pies were sweet.
ened with wild honey, and seasoned
with p~ulverized pepper. Salt was
brought from Onondaga, N. Y, on
ox-teams or pack-horses, and cost
twenty dollars a barrel. Later on. a
salt spring was discovered, to which
people from all parts Of the Reserve
repaired in the spring, with a kettle.
to manufacture their own salt. Corn
bread, baked on a clean board before
a roaring fire, was the staple article Of
diet. 1t was served smoking hot, and
with it a bowl of milk and a wooden
spoon: The corn was ground in the
hollow of an oak stump; the grinding
was accomplished by pounding with a
stone pestle, hung to a spring pole.
Afterward hand-mills came into use,
which required two hours of steady
turning to grind meal enough to sup.
ply a days food to n person.
The annals Of one of the families Of
the reserve record that for three
months a younger son looked after the
supply of corn meal. He had chills
and fever, and the nearest hand-mill
was at a neighbours five miles distant.
He harmonized his work and his
shakes" In the morning, as soon
as the first shake was over, he
walked to the neighbor's. carrying a
peck of corn. He would grind his
grist, wait until the second shake
had passed, and then walk home.
Another family, whose head was away
seeking food, lived for three days on
boiled beech leaves. On the fourth
day, the smallest son, twelve years
old, rushed into the cabin, crying,
Give me the gun! l can shoot a
leer!' The mother took down the
gun from the rack, gave it to the boy,
and babe the children hush and listen.
The report and the shout told of the
boys success; he had killed a find deer.
The father Of another family went
twenty miles to buy provisions. His
wife and three children were 20 desti.
tute during his absence that she emp
tied the straw Of her bed on the cabin
floor, and picked it over to obtain what
wheat she could. She gathered a
handful, which she boiled and gave to
her children. A wild turkey APP
preached the cabin; she heard it call,
and took down her husbands rife,
which she had been taught to handle.
There was but one charge Of powder
in the house, and that was in the
gun. She realized the situation, but,
controlling her nerves, crept near the
bird. and fred. The turkey fell dead,
and she had food for her little ones.
Bears and wolves were numerous,
and every cabin had its wolf or bear
story. There was scarcely a pioneer
but could brag Of having been chased
up q tree by . black bear. The women
could tell Of their rude strategy to keep
the many wolves from the door. One
woman burned g%unpowder in a spoon,
held through a crevice IN herlog cabin,
to frighten away the wolves. Another
kept the spinning wheel going all
80 that her little ones would not
be scared by the howlings Of the hungry
wolves. Women had to DO brave. One
woman heard In the evening tho howl.
ing of wolves. She had a few sheep,
and having put the children to bed,
she lighted . torch and sailed forth.
She found the sheep huddled together
In the pasture, and saw the dark forms
Of the skulking wolves. The sheep fol-
her home. where she built a
large fire, and thus kept the beasts Of
prey At bay.-Hossh's Compassion.
A Literary Career.
ssThAre 0oea that clevar Mrs.. Fac thor.